How did he die?

Mr Wang was among a party of about 10 tourists visiting Bonnieux, in the picturesque Luberon area, on Tuesday morning, the France Bleu news site reports.

He was near the village’s upper church when he climbed onto a parapet at about 11:30 (09:30 GMT) to take pictures of the “superb panorama” offered by the Cedres forest, the site says.

Speaking through their own interpreter, Mr Wang’s travelling companions told police it had been an accident.

A local police chief, Hubert Meriaux, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency that Mr Wang had been trying to get his family to take a picture of him when he fell.

According to various sources, he fell between 12m (39ft) and 15m (49ft).

His widow was expected to arrive in the region on Wednesday, according to France Bleu.

Hands-on businessman

By Vincent Ni, BBC News Chinese

For a co-founder of a regional airline in China, Wang Jian’s rise to prominence in international business might come as a surprise to many.

The 57-year-old defied this stereotype. He and his co-founder Chen Feng transformed HNA (Hainan Airlines) into one of China’s most acquisitive companies, with more than $230bn (£175bn) in assets and a huge amount of debt.

To many on China’s internet, his death seems to have triggered curiosity. Just last month, HNA had to deny rumours that Mr Chen had died. Authorities in France have confirmed Mr Wang’s death is not being treated as suspicious.

Although he is not as well-known as Mr Chen in media, Mr Wang is said to have taken a hands-on approach to running the company. This explains why HNA’s dollar bonds fell after the company confirmed the news of his death.

The success of HNA can be attributed to the savviness of Mr Wang and Mr Chen but the future of this company might still, in part, depend on the government’s policies. Last year, as Beijing started to curb financial risks posed by such debt-ridden conglomerates, HNA had to embark on a selling spree to pay down its debt.

Related Articles

Image copyright ReutersImage caption Searches have been carried out in Kattankudy The father and two brothers of the alleged organiser of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, Zahran Hashim, were killed in a security forces operation on Friday, police say. Hashim, who blew himself up at a hotel in the capital Colombo, founded an […]

[ad_1] Image copyright PA Image caption Norway’s parliament is expected to ban the niqab in schools later this year A Muslim organisation in Norway has been criticised for hiring a communications officer who wears a full-face veil, or niqab. The culture minister, Muslim MPs and other Muslim organisations have condemned the Islamic Council of Norway’s […]

Image copyright Researchgate.net/ Getty Lawmakers from both sides of the US political divide have called for a delay in the vote on the nominee for the powerful Supreme Court. It follows an allegation of sexual assault in the 1980s against President Donald Trump’s pick, Brett Kavanaugh. Mr Kavanaugh denies the allegations made by Christine Blasey […]